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0. A. TOWER.

No. 550,546. P55 5555 Nov. 25, 1895.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CLINTON A. TOWER, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE NATIONAL. MALLEABLE CASTIN GS COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

SEAL-LOCK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 550, 546, dated November 26, 1895. Application filedJune 27,1895. Serial No. 554,224. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CLINTON A. TOWER, of Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Car-Door Locks, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, forming part of this specification, in which the figure is a perspective view of a car-door lock constructed in accordance with my invention.

The object of my invention is to improve the construction of seal-locks for car-doors, &c., and to provide a lock simpler in construction than those heretofore known, containing less parts, and affording great security against tampering with the seal.

In the drawing, 2 represents the hasp pivotally connected at its rear end to a staple 3 on the door, the eye of the staple passing through an elongated hole 4 in the hasp, so as to give the hasp capacity for some longitudinal play back and forth. The keeper 5 is bolted to the car near the door and is formed with a horizontally-projecting lug 6, in which are two vertical holes 7 8. The hasp is formed with a vertical hook or tongue 9,

. adapted to register with and enter one of said holes when the door is closed, and provided, also, with an eye 10, adapted to register with the other of said holes.

Instead of forming the holes 7 8 in line with the hasp, they may be placed so that a line joining their centers shall be at right angles to the plane of the car-door, the positions of the hook and the eye on the hasp being changed correspondingly.

In using the lock the car-door is closed, the hasp is engaged with the keeper, as shown in the figure, so that the tongue in the hasp shall fit in the hole 8, and that the holes 7 10 shall register with each other, and the seal wire or strip 11 is then passed through said holes and the seal applied thereto. The elongation of the hole in the hasp by which it is secured to the staple affords longitudinal play to the hasp and gives it free motion to adapt it to any shrinking of the door or other cause which might prevent registering of the tongue on the hasp with the hole in the keeper.

I show in the drawing the end of the tongue 9, provided with a hole or slot 12, through which the seal wire or strip may be passed instead of passing it through the registering holes 7 and 10, or the seal-wire may be passed 5 5 both through the holes 7 10 and the slot 12.

The advantages of the invention will be appreciated by those skilled in the art.

The device is very simple, and by making it unnecessary to employ a bolt in addition to the hasp and its keeper the device is cheapened, and many other advantages result from the simplification of the construction and the lessened number of parts.

Within the scope of my invention, as defined in the claim, many changes may be made. For example, the arrangement of the parts may be reversed, so that the vertical tongue shall be on the keeper and the eye for receiving the same shall be on the hasp.

I claim-- A car-door lock comprising a pivoted hasp provided with a tongue and an eye for the seal-wire, a keeper having an eye for receiving the tongue, and a separate eye for registering with the seal-wire eye of the hasp; substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand June 24, 1895.

CLINTON A. TOIVER.

Witnesses:

T. W. BAKEWELL, O. K. BROOKS. 

